UPDATE: Governor Candidates Spar on Medicare

UPDATE, 5:15 p.m.

Below is a statement from Republican gubernatorial candidate Kevin Smith on a news conference held by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Maggie Hassan today:

Today, Kevin Smith, Republican candidate for governor of New Hampshire, called out Democratic candidate, Maggie Hassan, for her utter hypocrisy in stating today that the state needs "common-sense, mainstream health care solutions." 

While a state senator in 2010, Maggie Hassan proposed one of the most sweeping government-controlled pieces of health care legislation, dubbed "Maggiecare," which would have established a new government bureaucracy made up of three "health czars" whose responsibility it would have been to fix health care rates that hospitals and other health care professionals charged.  In addition, Hassan's proposed new government entity would have also granted authority to itself to impose taxes on the income of these health care providers in order to sustain its own existence.

Commenting on the hypocrisy of Hassan's remarks today was Republican candidate, Kevin Smith: "If Maggie's idea of common-sense health care solutions are setting up government bureaucracies to fix costs of health care providers as well as levying new taxes on them, I can only imagine what some of her more "progressive" ideas are.  Maggie has entirely missed the boat on this issue.  Health care costs will not be reduced by more government intervention, but rather by allowing more competition into the marketplace, which is exactly what I have proposed doing as part of my New Hampshire's Future Is Now plan.

Smith continued, "Under my plan, businesses and consumers can purchase health insurance across state lines, and purchase alternative plans by allowing insurance companies to offer alternative packages without all of the state mandates.  I've also called for an end to the CON process which will allow greater competition into the marketplace which will only benefit consumers in the end."

Unlike Hassan's campaign, which has offered no solutions to date on how to reduce the cost of health care in New Hampshire, Smith earlier this month detailed his plan for addressing this area among others in Part II of his economic plan, NH's Future Is Now.  

UPDATE, 3 p.m.

Below is Republican gubernatorial candidate Ovide Lamontagne's response to a statement by Hassan

Ovide Lamontagne, Republican candidate for Governor, released the following statement today concerning Senator Maggie Hassan’s comments regarding health care in New Hampshire: 

“I have said from day one that the decisions facing New Hampshire voters electing their next Governor this fall will be stark.  With her performance today, Senator Hassan has once again made that point plainly.  Senator Hassan – the chief architect of the discredited and rightfully rejected ‘Maggiecare’ plan to take over New Hampshire’s health care system – is once again choosing rhetoric over common sense health care reform for New Hampshire residents. 

Senator Hassan’s characterization of my position is wrong.  Each day on the campaign trail, I have spoken of the importance of our health care industry to New Hampshire’s families and small businesses.  As Governor, I will use my real world experience working with health care providers to help devise common sense free market reforms that will deliver competition to our health care system and insurance markets, ensuring higher-quality, lower cost care and coverage.  We can do this with steps such as reforming our CON process, encouraging hospitals and health care providers to collaborate with one another to find more efficient models of providing care, and allowing insurance to be purchased across state lines. 

I have also said very plainly that I oppose the President’s disastrous, tax hiking, job killing Obamacare takeover of our national health care system.  As Governor, I would fight the implementation of Obamacare here in New Hampshire, and work with like-minded members of our federal delegation to seek its complete repeal.  In comparison, it is Senator Hassan who supports a top down, government run health care system that would remove all traces of freedom and the free market from both health care consumers and providers. 

New Hampshire voters rightfully oppose the type of statist solutions that Senator Hassan and President Obama alike seek to impose on New Hampshire.  As Governor, I will stand on the side of freedom, common sense reforms and the free market, and I will oppose the big government, one size fits all mandates that Senator Hassan seems to enjoy so much.”

Below is Hassan's statement on New Hampshire's Medicare reform plan:

New Hampshire needs common-sense, mainstream health care solutions, not the Ovide-O’Brien-Smith plan to take over Medicare, Maggie Hassan, Democratic candidate for Governor, said today.

“One of the reasons I am running for Governor is to safeguard access to quality, affordable health care for New Hampshire families and businesses,” Hassan today at a press conference, where she was joined by state Rep. Donna Schlachman, former Vice Chair of the House Commerce Committee and New Hampshire seniors. “That is why I am here today to speak out against legislation that would allow the New Hampshire legislature to take over and cut Medicare for seniors.” 

The state Senate last Thursday held a hearing on HB1560, creating “an interstate health compact.” The House has already passed the legislation, over the objections of the policy committee that considered the bill.  Under the proposal, the legislature would take over Medicare for seniors from the federal government; the federal government would only give the state block grants for Medicaid; and the state legislature would have the authority to overturn any federal health laws – such as those that bar insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions. 

Both Republican gubernatorial candidates, Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith, have endorsed the risky plan, which the State Committee on Aging has said could have a “major and potentially destructive impact on health care for seniors.”  

“Seniors pay their whole working lives for Medicare. Under this plan, workers would still pay a tax for Medicare health insurance – but now they would not be guaranteed Medicare coverage once they reached 65. This legislature has already cut health care access for tens of thousands of New Hampshire citizens. We should not trust them with Medicare,” said Hassan. 

Hassan said that in the upcoming campaign she will outline her own health care proposals for New Hampshire.

“The right way to reduce health care costs is to better coordinate care for the sickest patients; to reduce unnecessary utilization; and to ensure that we have transparency in health care financing,” Hassan said. “As Governor, I will stand strong against any plan – like this one – that takes health care away from the people who need it most.”

In a recent op-ed, Ovide Lamontagne said the takeover of Medicare would be one of his top priorities as governor.  Lamontagne has also expressed support for U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget, which would make seniors pay more for health care and put private for-profit health insurers in charge of their care. Other advocates have deemed this proposal “revolutionary” – and that’s exactly what it is: a revolutionary change that would take away health care for New Hampshire seniors.  

“New Hampshire seniors can’t afford the Ovide-O’Brien-Smith health care plan. It could leave tens of thousands of our seniors, children and people with disabilities without health care,” said Rep. Schlachman. “Medicare has been an enormous success for our nation. It has helped keep seniors out of poverty, and ensure that they live longer, healthier lives. The O’Brien legislature has already shown a willingness to make severe cuts to Medicaid. They can’t be trusted with Medicare.” 

This proposal is a gimmick, promoted as an out-of-state group as part of an effort to “get the federal government out of health care,” Schlachman said. “As Governor, Maggie Hassan will focus on finding mainstream, common-sense solutions to control health care costs and expand access. We’ve already seen that Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith will choose extreme right-wing gimmicks over the hard work of helping people,” Schlachman said.

Russ Armstrong, Chairman of the State Committee on Aging, wrote in a recent Concord Monitor Op-Ed that “the State Committee on Aging does not lightly take strong positions on pending legislation. However, HB 1560 is so egregious and potentially dangerous to the future of senior health care that we adamantly oppose the bill. Seniors should be aware of the threats to their health care and encourage their legislators to oppose this bill.”

Paula Bradley of Concord, is a senior relying on Medicare.

“First, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan proposed turning Medicare into a voucher program. Now Ovide Lamontagne, Kevin Smith and the New Hampshire legislature want to take it over? No thank you,” Bradley said.  “I don’t trust Ovide Lamontagne or Kevin Smith and this legislature to run my Medicare, and other New Hampshire seniors shouldn’t either. People who want to be governor of New Hampshire should be standing up for us, looking for common sense solutions, not embracing fringe ideas.”